The Circuit

Barbara Balser, national chair of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the first woman to lead the organization in its 91-year history, was the special guest speaker at its 10th annual Deborah Awards Gala on May 20 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The dinner honored Christina Sanchez Camino, director of public affairs KMEX34/Univision; LaVerne Davis, vice president external affairs, Verizon; Sarita Hasson Fields, president of Star Staffing Services, Inc; and Kim Ng, vice president and assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Deborah Award is named for the prophetess Deborah, who in the Book of Judges was known for her courage, wisdom and leadership. The awards are presented to women whose leadership in their professions and philanthropic and civic contributions exemplify the qualities of Deborah and the ideals of the ADL.

Before the dinner, guests were invited to look at "Faces of L.A.," a beautiful collection of photographs of daily life in Los Angeles, which were taken by students of the ADL's Dream Dialogue youth program, which brings together a diverse group of young people from different ethnic groups to develop teen leadership skills in monthly meetings. Two Dream Dialogue ambassadors, Shirley Eshaghian and Sina Grace, spoke to the crowd about how much the program meant to them.

Summing up the sentiments of the evening and the organization was singer-songwriter Daniel Nahmod, who played guitar and sang his original composition, "No Place for Hate."

A Gala for Graboffs

Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles (JFS) celebrated its 150th anniversary on May 23 with a gala at the Regent Beverly Wilshire. At the dinner, Marc Graboff, the executive vice president, NBC West Coast, and Debi Graboff, a family attorney at the Law Offices of Rosaline L. Zuckerman, received the Spirit of Humanity Award, and Wells Fargo received the first Anita and Stanley Hirsch Award. All the awardees have been significant supporters of JFS. Marc Graboff is working to marshal the resources of Hollywood in support of JFS' vital community services, and Debi has worked with JFS' Divorce Mediation Project, where she helped mediate divorce cases in conjunction with a JFS family therapist. Wells Fargo has underwritten JFS dinners since 2001, and they also underwrote JFS' "Still Listening: 150 years of Jewish Family Service" -- an exhibition of art and historical artifacts that was presented at the Skirball Center earlier this year.

"Access Hollywood's" Pat O'Brien was the emcee, while singer Barry Manilow serenaded the crowd. Jeff Zucker, president of NBC Entertainment, Nancy Tellem, president of CBS Entertainment and Lloyd Braun were honorary event co-chairs. The event chairs were Paul and Laurie Nussbaum.

Awards Awarded

Dr. Myron F. Goodman, the head of molecular and computational biology in the Departments of Biological Sciences and Chemistry at USC, and Dr. Michael Teitell, the head of the division of pediatric and developmental pathology at the UCLA School of Medicine received the Elliot Osserman Award for Distinguished Service in Support of Cancer Research from the Israel Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) in May. The ICRF underwrites promising cancer research.

Also in May, at Cal State Los Angeles, education professor Martin G. Brodwin and history professor Stanley M. Burstein received the $20,000 systemwide CSU Wang Family Excellence Award, which honors members of the CSU faculty who have distinguished themselves by exemplary contributions and achievements.

96 and Still Kicking

In May, Rebecca Matloff, 96, was inducted as a founding fellow of the One-Hundred-Twenty Society of the Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT). The honor was conferred by professor Joseph S. Bodenheimer JCT president, in a ceremony chaired by Frances and Dr. Stephen Schloss, who are also co-chairs of the Western States Region of the Friends of JCT. The JCT is a world-class center for the training of Israeli engineers in high tech fields, as well as managerial accounting and management.

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